


Love at First Ink

by Arlana



Series: Shiratorizawa Fanweek 2020 [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Hayato is hella gay, I tried for a plot, M/M, Not Beta Read, Nothing Hayato can prove though, One Shot, Semi and Yaku may have planned everything, Shiratorizawa Fanweek 2020, Swearing, Yamagata Hayato Centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24742570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arlana/pseuds/Arlana
Summary: Shiratorizawa Fanweek 2020Day 3: Flower Shop/Tattoo Parlour AUYamagata Hayato is an artist at a Tattoo parlour across the street from a flower shop where the most beautiful man he has ever seen works. By a stroke of fate and maybe the meddling of friends the man becomes a client.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu (mentioned), Oohira Reon & Semi Eita, Oohira Reon/Yamagata Hayato, Semi Eita/Ushijima Wakatoshi (Mentioned)
Series: Shiratorizawa Fanweek 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807885
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26
Collections: Shiratorizawa Fanweek 2020





	Love at First Ink

**Author's Note:**

> A very rarepair that is as near and dear to my heart as UshiSemi but one that I don't write much for even though I very much love. I don't know why I don't write Hayato more, he's such a fun character to explore.
> 
> This turned out a lot longer than I had in mind, but for a pairing with only a handful of fics and crumbs on AO3 I think they deserve it and hope more people will ship them with me.

“So, when are you going to stop drooling over the guy across the street and ask him out?”

Hayato is jolted out of his reverie and swivels around to meet the smirking face of his coworker and friend. A familiar tuft of blond hair standing out against brown.

“Never? Dude, I don't have a shot in hell.” He scoffs. Only in his wildest dreams would he even consider talking to the cute flower shop employee, let alone asking the guy out on a date. He wasn't even sure if the dude even swung that way!

“You never know unless you try!” Nishinoya insists, flipping through his appointment book and scribbling down something or other.

“Just because you had the balls to walk up to Asahi and ask him out point blank doesn't mean I do. And, you two actually, I don’t know, _spoke_ before you asked him out. This guy doesn't even know I exist! And we don't even know if he likes men.” Movement outside the window draws Hayato's attention and he couldn't suppress the tug of a smile as his favourite flower shop employee emerges to water some of the hanging plants. The man had only recently begun working there, showing up out of the blue one morning and catching Hayato's attention as he was opening the parlour for the day.

They had exchanged casual waves in passing and ever since then Hayato had been more keen on scheduling clients for mornings, despite disliking early appointments.

Continuing his watching Hayato takes in the hint of a gentle smile, how he looked so peaceful and content tending to the plants. His dark skin a contrast to the pastel button-up with the rolled up sleeves that Hayato swears is a little too small for him, clinging tight as he reached above and showing off the faint lines of well-defined muscles.

He was an utterly perfect man.

“—ayato. Hayato!” Nishinoya swats at his shoulder, “Look. All you gotta do is walk over there, tell him you'd like to take him a date, maybe even take him home. Simple. Easy.”

“Yeah, no. I’d rather just sit here and not embarrass myself. He is waaay outta my league.”

Before Nishinoya could push any farther the familiar bell of their door rings, catching their attention as their coworker walks in.

“Morning.” Yaku greets, a cup carrier in hand.

“Good morning Morisuke!” Nishinoya chirps, instantly reaching over the counter for the carrier, twisting around the cups to find his order.

“Anything exciting going on?” He asks, handing Hayato his cup of much needed coffee.

Despite it being just past 11 in the morning their shop had only opened minutes ago, and the first client of the day wasn’t scheduled for another half hour. By all accounts their morning was just getting started and had absolutely nothing going on.

“Aside from Hayato's fat gay crush on the dude across the street? Because that’s all we've been talking about.” 

Hayato briefly wonders if it was too late to find another parlour to work for.

Yaku raises a brow but thankfully doesn't say anything, choosing to sip at his drink instead. He flicks open their shop's master appointment book and tuts as he glances over all the mismatched writing.

“I’ve got a friend coming in today that wants to talk complementing tattoos for him and a friend. If you’re not busy Hayato, I think his friend might be right up your alley. Wanna collab on it?” Yaku offers as he writes in the appointment during a free time block, eyeing him for an answer. Thankful for the subject change and possibility of a new client Hayato agrees to the proposition.

°°°

The rest of the morning passes by uneventfully, a few clients come in for quick touch-up sessions and Hatayo manages to sketch out a few new personal designs. It was nearing three and Hayato had just returned from a lunch break and was working on some drafts for the next day's appointments.

“My friends here. You ready for the consultation?” Yaku says, sticking his head into the back room.

Grabbing a hold of his work sketch book and a couple pens Hayato follows Yaku out to the waiting area. They're greeted by a man with ash blond hair and sharp brown eyes, dressed in an oversized sweater hanging off a shoulder and dark ripped jeans with combat boots. The man stands and extends a hand toward Hayato as he approaches. 

“I'm Semi Eita. Feel free to call me Eita.”

“Yamagata Hayato, and Hayato’s fine by me.” With introductions out of the way Yaku and Hayato take their seats on either side of Semi.

“Reon can’t make it but he says he trusts me to make the executive decisions for the designs.”

“That's perfectly fine. If you know what he wants we can still get started. One of us will just touch base with him later. What're you thinking about getting done?” Despite being friends Yaku easily slips into his professional persona, asking basic questions and taking diligent notes with ease.

“—I’m not sure if Reon has decided on his placement but I definitely want something for either my back—” Semi twists to pat at his exposed shoulder blade, “—or my thigh. So its gonna be pretty big. Morisuke, you know what I like, yeah?”

“Clean, strong line-work and details, black and white mostly. Some colour is fine but not a lot. Right?” He rattles off, eyes never leaving his notebook.

“Right. We were thinking something floral, kinda elegant, but like with some bold line-work or background elements too. I’m basically down for whatever, do with that what you will.”

“Ooh, you're giving me a lot of freedom here Eita.”

Semi shrugs, “I trust you won't do a bad job.” He quickly turns to face Hayato, “Reon—my friend—this is going to be his first tat, so you get to take his tattoo v-card.”

“I’m honored. I promise I'll treat him well.” Hayato replies solemnly, with every ounce of seriousness he has in his body. Being a person's first tattoo artist was always a pleasure and highly regarded thing as far as Hayato was concerned; it was equal parts a leap of faith and honest to God trust in a total stranger to be marking up your body perminently.

Semi laughs, light and airy, his eyes glinting with mirth, jabbing his ring adorned index finger at him, “You better, or I’m going to have to come back and kick your ass.”

“Or send Wakatoshi.” Yaku tacks on.

“Or send my boyfriend. But anyways, Reon’s taste are way off from mine. He’s interested in colour, lots of it, a water colour effect would be a bonus but I told him those depend on the artist and need so much touch up later on. But don't let that stop you. Same idea though. He seems to like really detailed designs.”

Hayato takes his notes quickly, scribbling out questions to ask this Reon person as ideas begin filling his head. 

“Hmm, that’s about all I can say for him…” Semi tugs at an earlobe, fiddling with one of the shiny studs as he thinks, “Oh! His favourite flowers are violets. Second favourite and super cliché is roses.”

They chat for a few more moments, finalizing some basic details and arrangements for future appointments as well as going over basic procedural information. Yaku wraps up their appointment with price estimations before leading Semi to the front desk.

“Sounds good, we'll take your deposits right now and start working. Hayato and I can send you two drafts as we work and then set a date when we have something you like?”

“Awesome. I’m excited. We've been talking tattoos for years now and Reon is finally committing. I think me telling him how badly I cried when I got my ribs done put him off a little bit.” Semi whispers conspiratorially, pulling out his wallet and pays for the two deposits before pulling out his phone and addressing Hayato. “I can give you Reon's number and you two can message each other instead of having me and Morisuke play telephone.”

“That sounds like a plan.” He goes to reach for his phone only to find his pocket empty. Hayato pats around his body before uttering a low curse. 

“Just one second.” He says, darting back to the backroom and searching around for his misplaced phone. Eventually finding it underneath some magazine.

Phone securely in hand Hayato returns to the wait area and is given his new client’s number.

°°°

Over the course of a week and a half he and this Reon person exchange a few texts. They were mostly Hayato sending pictures of design sketches and asking clarifying questions but the two did occasionally speak of their personal lives. Hayato learns that Reon works at his aunt's local flower shop while he was attending school to be an occupational therapist and that he had an affinity for large dogs. And in return he shares his own hobbies, the occasional WIPs he had going on and sometimes pictures of his sleeve of tattoos.

The texts quickly becomes a constant in his life and Hayato knows that despite having never met they had become fast friends. He'd love to get drinks with the guy once they were done, he seemed very outgoing and looks forward to finally putting a face to a name.

It takes much longer to arrange an appointment date than Hayato expected. Reon and Semi had wanted to be able to get them together and his and Yaku's schedules don't overlap as often as his and Nishinoya's. Eventually they settle on a date and Hayato finds himself counting down the days until he meets Reon in person, all the while continuing his useless pining for the man across the street.

°°°

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Nishinoya sits at the reception desk staring blankly at the sketchbook set before him, twirling a pencil in a hand. It had been a slow day, his only appointment just left and he was in charge of the shop as Yaku went for lunch and Hayato wasn't scheduled to arrive for another fifteen. The low thumping of music easily drowned out and not at all helping his artist’s block.

Movement outside the window catches his attention and the pencil nearly tumbles out of his hand. At first he thinks that the man is simply passing by, then the bell above their door rings. An all too familiar figure stands before him, glancing around as he takes in the environment. Nishinoya resists the sudden urge to shout his shock and attempts to reign in his growing interest.

“H-hi there! What can I do for you?”

“Hello. I’ve an appointment with Yamagata-san?”

“Oh! Yeah, um, he'll be here in a little bit, you aren't scheduled for another fifteen minutes so he’s on his way. Give me a second and I’ll let him know you’re here early, feel free to take a seat. Excuse me!” Nishinoya snatches up his phone and darts into the back, dialing the other as soon as he was out of sight.

“DUDE, YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHO IS IN THE SHOP!” Nishinoya practically screeches into the receiver as soon as the other end is picked up.

_“Hello to you too? Why the hell are you screaming?”_

“DUDE! That double appointment you and Morisuke are booked for? The guy's friend is the dude across the street you keep staring at! You're tatting your florist man.”

The line goes silent and Nishinoya almost thinks Hayato had hung up. He really wants to stay on the call but leaving the front unmanned wasn't wise and if Morisuke found out he left for even a _second_ he might get his ass kicked onto next week.

“Look, I gotta get back to the front so like do whatever you gotta do but this is your chance to ask him out. After you've finished and he’s paid of course, we don't want you accused of sexual harassment. I hope you're dressed cute and wearing the pants that make your ass look good. Don’t be late. Bye.” He hangs up before anything else could be said and returns to the wait area.

“Sorry about that. Hayato’s on his way, I’m Nishinoya!”

“Ohira Reon. Reon is fine.”

The two shake hands before Nishinoya returns to his seat behind the desk. His eyes flicker toward the clock on the opposite wall before his gaze drops to the man on the bench.

“So, Reon, I heard that this is your first tattoo?”

“Yeah.” Reon bashfully scratches at his neck, eyes lowering slightly.

“Nervous?”

“A little. I’ve been told it’s not as bad as I think it is.”

Nishinoya hums lightly, flipping through potential responses in his head. The ring of the bell cuts off anything he would have said as Yaku enters. The brunette doesn't look particularly surprised at their unexpected guest, tilting his head in acknowledgement.

“Hayato not in yet?” Yaku asks, typing away on his phone.

“Nope.” Nishinoya replies, popping the ‘p’ cheekily. “Just talked with him though so he should be here soon.”

Yaku nods in lieu of a response. He makes his way to his station and begins pulling out all his equipment and sanitization products.

°°°

Bracing himself Hayato goes through a few quick breathing exercises, something he hasn't done since his first tattoo. Feeling rather sheepish to be nervous about entering his own workplace. His heart beat at a questionably quick rate, ready to burst out of his chest and run a marathon. With one more deep breath he pushes open the shop door, finding himself face to face with the hot florist across the street—Reon.

“Took you long enough!” Nishinoya exclaims, practically vibrating with pent up energy from where he sat. He makes no attempt to cover up the wide grin on his face or the glint in his eyes.

Ignoring the comment and willing himself to not make eye contact with the shorter artist Hayato forces a smile and extends a hand, “It’s good to see you Ohira-san.”

“Reon is fine.” His hand was larger than Hayato's, warm and slightly calloused but still soft. And his _voice_. His voice was all warm and rumbly, like honey soaked in sunlight, with just enough tender sincerity to be comfortably welcoming and friendly.

“Then call me Hayato. If you're ready we can go ahead and get you into a chair?” Hayato quickly turns on his heel, pointedly not looking in Nishinoya's direction.

Reon follows Hayato into the work area, where Semi and Yaku were already waiting. The chatter dies down as they near. Two sets of brown eyes track Hayato's movements and he has the sinking feeling that it had all been a set up and he'd been played.

“Good to see that you haven't started without me.” Reon comments as he is directed into the chair next to Semi's. Hayato seats himself on his stool, adjusting the height before pulling materials and tools out of his workstation drawers. He hands an unopened package of needles to Reon to inspect for defects or tampering as he goes about setting up the rest of his station.

“Okay, this is the final draft of the design we talked about. It looks good now, but wait until it’s coloured.” He passes over the design for a final approval, “If you want an adjustment in size let me know, I could probably bang it out in like ten minutes and if you want me to change anything that can be done too.”

Despite his casual attitude, the uncomfortable swirl of anxiety begins to settle in the pit of his stomach, what if his design wasn't up to scratch? Maybe he had over done it with the details, or maybe not enough? He rarely ever felt so _insecure_ about his work, but not only was his reputation as an artist on the line, he wanted deeply to impress the other man. Woo him with his work and skill. Maybe convince him to come back for another one in the future once the ink addiction set in. Maybe convince him to let Hayato be his _only_ tattoo artist.

Was that creepy?

Hayato's eyes wander over to Yaku's area, where he was applying the stencil onto Semi's upper thigh and peeling off the paper before allowing the blonde to slide off his seat and check the placement in the mirror, shorts hiked up on one side to his hip. 

“It’s perfect.” Hayato’s attention was drawn back by those words and it was in that moment that he knew he had been blessed by some higher power. Reon's smile was overwhelmingly kind and sincere, angelic even, and so very openly trusting. 

Without a doubt, he was an absolute goner.

“Great, great.” He mumbles out, turning his attention back to his supplies in an attempt to hide his blush. “We're doing it on your left shoulder, yeah? Go ahead and take off your shirt whenever you’re ready and lay down for me.”

He turns around to give the other man some semblance of privacy. Even though their work area shared the same floor space as the waiting area and was only separated by a swinging half door.

“Alright. Ready to get started?” Hayato swivels around, swallowing thickly at the sight of the exposed back. All lean and muscled, paired nicely with thick and well defined biceps, dark skin stretching as he twist and turned to reveal a subtle strength underneath. Reon worked out. Obviously. Hayato dumbly reaches for his gloves eyes never leaving the other’s back, drinking in the sight of the canvas he had the honor of working on. The snap of latex against his skin grounds him enough to focus, forcing air into his starved lungs Hayato squashes down on any thoughts that strayed from the topic at hand.

He was there to do a tattoo for a client. A tattoo that was going to take while and he was going to have to spend the next few hours touching and intensely staring his client's bare back. His client just so happened to be the very hot man across the street.

Oh man. He was _so_ gay

Shaking his head Hayato spares one last glance up at Yaku working before shifting his eyes back down, pushing all thoughts aside and concentrating on his task. He meticulously wipes the area down with alcohol before slowly peeling off the backing of his stencil and applying it, smoothing his hand over the skin to ensure that the entire piece transfers. He peels back the paper and nods happily at the placement, reaching for his tattoo gun. With gentle pressure he pushes down on the pedal and a distinctive whirling sound fills the air as his tattoo gun comes to life. He lays his unoccupied hand gently on the shoulder underneath him, feeling the tension and sudden contraction of muscles.

“Relax,” he breaths out in a tone softer than any he has ever used on a client before, “let me know if you need a break okay?”

He receives a stiff nod in reply and gives the shoulder a gentle squeeze, waiting patiently as the tension melts away. 

“Okay, here we go.” Without further ado and with a hand steady from years of practice he brings the needle down and begins the first stroke.

They don't speak much throughout the session, Reon choosing instead to quietly lay there and occasionally converse with his friend as Hayato works. But, mostly he remains quiet and watches Yaku work on Semi, who looked half asleep on the chair.

The familiar humming of the gun helping to drown out all other distractions as he meticulously followed his detailed stencil. Each stroke as precise as can be, blue lines slowly replaced with black. He feels Reon tense every time he passes a rough paper towel across the reddening skin and bites back the urge to apologize.

°°°

“Aaaaand...we're done. Whew.” Releasing a drawn-out breath Hayato stretches, his back protesting the sudden movement and change in position. He massages his hand as he takes in his newest masterpiece: a large elder oak tree with its branches spread upward, roots transitioning into vines of roses and violets with strands of ivy interwoven, curling to encircle the tree in a semi-circle, set starkly against splashes of colour in the background, unhindered by lines and holding the faint shapes of gardenias and gloxinias. The delicate and detailed flora further enhanced by strategically placed complementing line work.

Overall the work had taken the better part of 5 hours start to finish with breaks and Hayato feels a bone deep tiredness and satisfaction set in. With one last wipe of his towel he reaches for the hand mirrors nearby, handing one off to Reon while he positioned the other, “Tell me what you think.”

The look on the other man's face was worth every ache in his shoulder and back. Brown eyes widen in awe as their owner takes in the beautiful new ink adorning a once naked shoulder blade.

“That good that you’re speechless?” Another voice pipes up. Semi stands on Reon's other side, having finished his session minutes earlier, pale thigh an angry red and wrapped in plastic. Curious eyes inspect Hayato's work before nodding in approval, sharp eyes moving to meet his, “Very impressed. Colour—especially water colour effects—can be a challenging thing on dark skin. Reon's definitely chose well.”

Hayato hums lightly, pleased that his work was appreciated not just by his client. He makes quick work of clean up and wrapping up the other's shoulder before leading him to the front to pay.

“—and here are instructions for aftercare. I’m sure Eita can walk you through how to do it but you have my number. Feel free to keep it and text if you need anything.”

“Sounds good, thank you so much.”

“No worries, I’m glad you like it and it was an honor to do you f—I mean do your first.”

He waits for the duo to leave before allowing himself to slump forward, forehead thumping against the hardwood desk and jostling the mug of pens. Turning to lay more comfortably he finds himself being scrutinized by his coworkers, knowing looking plastered on their faces. 

“Not. A. Word.” He bites out, closing his eyes as they laughed.

°°°

“Hayato! You've got a visitor!” Nishinoya's hollering really put their speaker system to shame, his voice carrying all the way down to their back room without losing any effectiveness. It truly was a wonder how such a small body could produce such volume.

Pushing himself up from the threadbare sunken in couch, Hayato leisurely makes his way to the front passing by Yaku coming in, vaguely wondering who could be dropping by so early. Unless it was a walk-in or an early client.

The last person he expected stood before him, hands held behind his back as he made conversation with Nishinoya. His smile widening a fraction as Hayato enters—or maybe he was seeing things, he _was_ due for a an eye appointment soon—eyes sparkling brightly and dressed smartly in a light blue button up and dark pants. He briefly wonders how the fabric is treating the healing skin on the other’s back.

“Reon! Hello! Please tell me you’re not here because you regret the tattoo.” He jokes in an attempt to keep a casual façade.

“No! No, nothing like that. I was hoping you were free for a few minutes. And we could talk?”

“Uh, yeah yeah, we can step outside for a second?”

Hayato leads the other outside where they stand under the shop awning, with a perfect view into the windows of the flower shop. Reon fidgets slightly, hands still behind him, the faint crinkle of paper draws his attention. With a deep steadying breath, he produces a beautifully arranged bouquet of roses and carnations. Wrapped in sapphire blue—Hayato's favourite colour—tissue paper and tied off with a white ribbon.

“I've noticed you across the street before and never really had a reason to come over and talk to you, and then Eita was pushing for the tattoos again and it was you. And, um, I hope this isn't too forward, but, these are for you, and I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me?” Reon's dark skin doesn't betray any hint of embarrassment, never breaking eye contact throughout his confession.

Hayato on the other hand flushes a deep dark red.

“Fuck, no way. Wait, no. I mean not no, that's not what I meant to say, it just came out, and oh man was that bad timing and—,” The words tumble out of his mouth before his brain can catch up and Hayato wishes he could melt into the ground. Reon gives him a strange look and he makes one last ditch effort to save what little face he has left, “—I mean, yes, yes, dinner sounds great.”

Hayato finally accepted the neatly arranged bouquet—no doubt done by Reon himself—and cradles the flowers delicately.

“So you gonna kiss or what?” Nishinoya spectacularly ruins the moment, eyes expectant as he and Yaku shamelessly intrude on their moment. With a sudden burst of confidence Hayato shrugs and yanks the other man down for a kiss.

Damn, he'd been wanting to do that for _so_ long.

~

_Violets - Modesty_   
_Roses - Love; Romance_   
_Ivy - Wedded Love; Fidelity; Friendship; Affection_   
_Gardenias - You're Lovely; Secret Love_   
_Gloxinias - Love at First Sight_   
_Carnations - Fascination; Divine Love_

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't realize until after I had finished but everyone in the tattoo parlour is a libero??? Maybe thay says something but I don't know what.
> 
> Writing this definitely made we want to get another tat just for funsies. And from personal experience Semi is based on when I got my thigh piece done, was definitely relaxed enough to almost sleep through my appointment.
> 
> Basically the rest of the fanfics for this week will be UshiSemi centric and I am ready to flood that ship tag.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and please feel free to leave a kudo or comment! ♡


End file.
